Today is the day to…
be independent
The source for this material and
for our 25-Day CT Challenge is…
25 Days to Better Thinking and Better
Living: A Guide for Improving Every Aspect of Your
Life, by Dr. Linda Elder & Dr. Richard
Paul, Pearson, 2006; and the Center and
Foundation for Critical Thinking, CA.
Don’t be Subservient
 “Be on the lookout for submissive
behavior—yours and others’.
 One of the hallmarks of
submissiveness is conformity, a
phenomenon common in human
life.”
(Drs. Elder and Paul, Ibid)
…and don’t be an underdog
 Submissiveness may
make you feel resentful
 You may just think
negative thoughts
 Perhaps you make
flippant or sarcastic
comments
 You may act in a
passive/aggressive way
 You may feel impotent
when you have “just
gone along” against your
will
(Ibid)
Our authors remind us…
“Don’t blame others for controlling you
when you do not take control of
yourself.”
(Ibid)
“NO MAN IS FREE WHO IS NOT
MASTER OF HIMSELF.”
- Epictetus
An underdog learns the art of helplessness…
 “These people exchange
freedom to achieve other
ends…





security
protection
advancement
and/or…to achieve
indirect influence over the
top dog”
Some underdogs are very
skilled and clever indeed
Some apparently
subservient people can
even “control” unskillful
top dogs
They are often able to get
what they want in this
manner
(Ibid)
What if you notice people
“…being
submissive in
relationship to
you?”
Ask yourself:
 Why are they doing
this?
 What are they after?
 Do they get what
they want through
this submissive
behavior?
(Ibid)
…and, people can switch
roles:
“People are often subservient in some
situations and dominating in others.”
 e.g., subservient at the office; dominating at
home
 e.g., subservient to spouse; dominating to
children
(Ibid)
Rational persons do not
want to play either role,
…and they work to avoid both a top dog or
underdog pattern. Top dog and underdog patterns
exists in numerous settings in human life, leading to
much suffering, injustice, and cruelty.
(Ibid)
See pp. 47-48 for more discussion by our authors
regarding these patterns—how to recognize them and
what they may mean.
Begin observing your
behavior when with others:
 Do you tend to “go along”?
 Do you resent it afterwards?
 Do you feel someone else has unreasonable
control over you?
Bring these feelings and thoughts to the forefront
in order to get command of behavior that you
want to change
Six Strategies
 Dr. Elder and Dr. Paul offer six
strategies that you can use for
avoiding irrational submission.
 See pp. 48-50 in their book, (Ibid).
Remember that these
points…
 Reflect the tip of the iceberg
 Are a “fast track” sprint; a Berlitz course, if you
will;
 Present an overview of what takes much
longer to truly develop…of what requires much
deeper focus and practice in your thinking;
 Even the original plan of our authors was for a
25-week “fast track”, not 25 days !
Today is the day to…
be independent
DAILY REFLECTION
NOTES

Today I was successful in using the following ideas/strategies:

The key insights that emerged for me today were:

One problem in my thinking that I now realize is:

I plan to continue working on this problem using the following strategy: